“Learning to be Human” is the theme of the 2018 World Congress of Philosophy (2018 WCP), which is known as the Olympic in philosophy. With 3,000 to 5,000 participants around the world expected to come to the Congress in Beijing next year, 2018 WCP will be a great opportunity for Chinese culture to develop both in terms of its depth and in terms of its exposure to the world. As a major force that influences the direction of the contemporary world, business enterprises need to ask a question parallel to “learning to be human” -- how to transform businesses from “profit-making social entities” to be “major pillars for social development,” a question that should be an important topic in the 2018 WCP. In this regard, FORTILE and GOODARK’s groundbreaking efforts have not only brought their own respective companies into success, but also provided stimulating examples to countless companies inside and outside of China for their transformation and contribution to the general social progression.

This lecture & workshop aims at bringing together China’s most culturally conscientious business elites and top university academics, and thereby on the one hand allowing theoretical study of Confucianism to be more in touch with social practice, while on the other hand helping practical implementation of Confucian culture to receive more theoretical reflection and global attention. It is our hope that this meeting can play a leading role in deepening collaborations between the academia and businesses.